Articles [Special Issue: The Meiji Restoration and Religion]
The Move to Separate from the Daikyōin and Buddhist Astronomy
A Study of the Tenmon Sanjikyō by Hanaya An'ne
2018 Volume 92 Issue 2 Pages 31-53
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2018 Volume 92 Issue 2 Pages 31-53
The Meiji government in the early stage adopted a policy to establish Shinto as the state religion and promulgated the separation of Buddhism and Shinto. However, the government changed direction because of confusion caused by the Haibutsu-kishaku and the stagnation of missionary work. Then, the Daikyōin was established for social edification. However, the edification policy insisted on the “supremacy of Shinto over Buddhism” and caused the movement, led by Jōdo-shin priests, to separate from the Daikyōin, which was dissolved in 1875.
In this paper, I would like to introduce a case which reflects the discontent of Buddhist priests at the time by closely reading Hanaya An'ne's Tenmon sanji kyō (1874) and consider the meaning of the curious criticism on the cosmological discourse of National Learning made by Buddhist intellectuals, which focused on the theory of Mt. Sumeru as found in Buddhist scriptures.
An'ne insisted on the homogeneity between Buddhism, Confucianism and Shintoism at the level of cosmological discourse. On the other hand, he severely criticized the cosmological discourse of Hirata Atsutane as being teachings under the influence of Western knowledge. An'ne's evaluation of Hirata Atsutane and his teachings seems to reflect strife between Buddhist thought and the teachings of the Daikyōin in this period.
